Runbook 02 — Registry Security Review

Runbook Information

Property	Value
Runbook Name	Registry Security Review
Module	Module 06 — Container Security
Runbook Number	Runbook 02
Assessment Type	Enterprise Container Registry Assessment
Estimated Duration	4–8 Hours
Audience	Cloud Penetration Testers, Container Security Engineers, DevSecOps Engineers, Cloud Security Consultants
Framework	GoHackersCloud Enterprise Container Security Assessment Framework

Purpose

This runbook provides a standardized methodology for assessing enterprise container registries.

It enables consultants to evaluate authentication, authorization, repository governance, vulnerability management, image integrity, software supply chain controls, and operational security before production workloads consume container images.

Assessment Scope

Review:

Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR)
Azure Container Registry (ACR)
Google Artifact Registry (GAR)
Harbor Registry
Docker Hub Enterprise
Private Container Registries

Assessment Methodology

Planning

↓

Registry Discovery

↓

Authentication Review

↓

Authorization Review

↓

Repository Assessment

↓

Image Integrity Validation

↓

Vulnerability Assessment

↓

Logging & Monitoring

↓

Governance Review

↓

Risk Analysis

↓

Reporting

Phase 1 — Planning

Objectives

Define assessment scope.
Identify registry platforms.
Review business-critical repositories.
Obtain required approvals.
Review registry architecture.

Collect

Registry inventory
Repository inventory
IAM documentation
Security policies
Previous assessment reports

Phase 2 — Registry Discovery

Identify:

Registry platforms
Private repositories
Public repositories
Repository owners
Storage locations
Regional deployments

Validate

Registry availability
Business criticality
Environment classification
Ownership

Phase 3 — Authentication Review

Assess authentication mechanisms.

Review:

Identity Providers
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Service Accounts
Access Tokens
Robot Accounts

Validate

Strong authentication
MFA enforcement
Token lifecycle
Credential rotation

Phase 4 — Authorization Review

Review repository permissions.

Assess:

Administrative roles
Push permissions
Pull permissions
Read-only access
Team permissions
Least Privilege implementation

Identify

Excessive permissions
Anonymous access
Shared accounts
Unused privileged identities

Phase 5 — Repository Assessment

Review:

Repository configuration
Public exposure
Immutable tags
Retention policies
Lifecycle management
Repository naming standards

Validate

Secure configuration
Governance compliance
Production segregation
Repository hygiene

Phase 6 — Image Integrity Validation

Review:

Digital signatures
Trusted publishers
Image provenance
Artifact integrity
Image promotion workflow

Validate

Image signing
Signature verification
Trusted build pipeline
Approved images only

Phase 7 — Vulnerability Assessment

Review:

Automatic vulnerability scanning
Scan frequency
Critical findings
High-risk findings
Remediation timelines
Exception handling

Validate

Scanning before deployment
Continuous rescanning
Security policy enforcement

Phase 8 — Logging & Monitoring

Review:

Authentication logs
Repository activity
Image uploads
Image downloads
Administrative changes
Permission changes
Audit logs

Validate

SIEM integration
Alert generation
Log retention
Monitoring coverage

Phase 9 — Governance Review

Review:

Registry standards
Image approval process
Change management
Secure SDLC
Software supply chain policies
Compliance requirements

Validate

Policy enforcement
Ownership
Periodic reviews
Continuous improvement

Phase 10 — Risk Analysis

Classify findings using enterprise risk ratings.

Severity	Description
Critical	Immediate production risk
High	Significant registry weakness
Medium	Security improvement required
Low	Minor security issue
Informational	Best practice recommendation

Prioritize findings based on:

Business impact
Exploitability
Repository criticality
Supply chain risk
Compliance impact

Evidence Collection

Collect evidence including:

Repository configuration
IAM permissions
Registry policies
Vulnerability reports
Image signature verification
Audit logs
CLI outputs
Architecture diagrams
Security policies
Screenshots

Ensure all evidence is securely stored and properly documented.

Assessment Deliverables

Produce:

Executive Summary
Registry Security Assessment Report
Repository Inventory
IAM Review
Vulnerability Assessment
Risk Register
Security Scorecard
Remediation Roadmap

Common Findings

Enterprise registry reviews frequently identify:

Public repositories exposing sensitive images
Overly permissive repository access
Missing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Unsigned production images
Weak lifecycle management
Outdated container images
Missing vulnerability scanning
Incomplete audit logging
Poor repository governance
Weak software supply chain controls

Enterprise Best Practices

Enforce least privilege access.
Require MFA for administrative users.
Enable immutable image tags.
Sign all production container images.
Continuously scan repositories for vulnerabilities.
Integrate registry logs with the enterprise SIEM.
Enforce secure image promotion workflows.
Remove unused repositories and stale images.
Review repository permissions regularly.
Maintain strong governance over the software supply chain.

Success Criteria

The registry assessment is complete when:

All enterprise registries have been reviewed.
Authentication and authorization controls have been validated.
Repository governance has been assessed.
Image integrity has been verified.
Vulnerability management has been evaluated.
Risks have been prioritized.
Executive and technical reports have been completed.

Runbook Summary

This runbook provides a repeatable methodology for conducting enterprise container registry security assessments using the GoHackersCloud Enterprise Container Security Assessment Framework.

Following this process enables Cloud Penetration Testers and Cloud Security Consultants to consistently assess authentication, authorization, repository governance, image integrity, software supply chain controls, vulnerability management, and operational maturity while delivering executive-ready consulting reports.

Next Runbook

➡️ Runbook 03 — Enterprise Container Investigation

In the next runbook, you will perform an end-to-end enterprise container security investigation by analyzing Docker environments, Kubernetes clusters, runtime security events, software supply chain controls, governance, and business risks to produce a comprehensive executive-level security assessment.